A Cooking Disaster
by Aura Creed
Summary: Another job, another paycheck to pay the rent. It was unusual for Joule to call him at all when he had been out with work, and it was even more unusual for him to come back home into a cloud of white dust. It didn't help that Lumen was exasperating the issue. This takes place before the ending of the game. Story name might change later if this becomes a collection of one shots.


I went through the trouble of emailing them to actually get an Azure Striker Gunvolt section on the site and then I never posted anything to it - let's change that, shall we?

Haven't posted anything in awhile and this was laying half complete in my google docs. I decided to finally finish up the last bit and post it up, ya know?

I've been reading over the other fanfictions that had come out not even a month or two after the section went up, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find there are quite a few people who are actually into the series. Though I guess I just assumed we were few and far between; I've personally seen more hype for Mighty No.9 then for Gunvolt Azure Striker.

Speaking of anyone hyped for the sequel? (Hopefully they'll actually translated ALL the story and put it into the 3DS version of the game because putting all the important story details about Gunvolt and his connection to Sumeragi in the steam version without offering the story to 3DS users is, in my opinion, bull-)

Kudos to my friend Jean for helping me edit this. I might continue editing it later, but it won't be anything major; the beginning parts already done, though I might tweak a bit of the wording towards the end at a later date.

* * *

His heartbeat was but a constant thrum in the background, the wind the static. The details were the bustling sounds of cars and people, far below the rooftops of the city claimed by Sumeragi.

His breathing was controlled, his footsteps heavy as he ran across the flat tops, jumping from roof to roof and - now that he was out of immediate danger - the sparks that coursed over his body had ceased. His septimal energy was not needed to get home, and as long as he wasn't using it he was almost impossible to track down. He was just glad Sumeragi no longer had the muse, or else he'd stand out like a sore thumb. He knew his operator was still shocked over it, not to mention the rest of QUILL. He honestly shouldn't have been surprised when he did find out; this was Sumeragi they were dealing with, and they lied to the public every chance they got.

It was still amusing watching them try to explain on the news how a computer program could possibly be kidnapped.

His earpiece crackled to life, a communications line being opened up to him just short of him jumping onto another apartment building. He faltered, brows raised as he stopped at the edge of the ten story complex. His hand went to his ear, pressing firmly on the piece as the static cleared and a chipper voice met his.

"Gunvolt! Can you hear me?"

"Joule? What on earth are you doing calling me from the private line?" A sharp frown formed on his lips. "Did something happen?"

"Wha-? Well, no, not in particular…" Her voice wavered, caught off guard by the question.

"Joule…" Gunvolt's brow creased, his voice admonishing as he sighed in exasperation. "I thought I told you this line is for emergencies only…"

"I-I know," Her voice drooped a little. "B-But I have something I want to show you!"

He was silent for a moment, realising he had to keep moving before he jumped onto the next roof. A hum reverberated from his end of the line, an acknowledgement; he didn't want her to think he had hung up.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." The reticence in the hushed 'yes' that followed was enough to relax his features. He manually cut the connection off, letting the 'click' resound before he continued moving. It wasn't often that he'd hear a smile in her voice.

 _At least she's happy…_ the hum lingered in his mind as he slipped into his apartment window. A moment later it shut with a soft clack, and he strolled past his computer terminal to the other side of the room. "Joule, what is-?.. Joule?" He'd barely opened the door on the other side of the room before a tumbling white cloud of powder came pouring out of the kitchen. It was spreading out into the hallway and down to the bedrooms, dusting his feet as well as clouding the small dining area adjacent to the mess erupting into their small living quarters. A few small coughs could be heard, coughs he knew had to be from Joule, and he swatted at the particles invading his air space before calling out again.

"Joule..?"

A squeak came from somewhere inside the kitchen. The soft sound of shuffling steps was all he heard before Joule appeared and started hurriedly pushing him back out the door. "I-I'm not done yet!" She insisted, an uneasy smile on her face.

"Ya brah, she's not done yet." A snort sounded before the holographic form of Lumen floated into view. "Not done trashing your apartment, that is."

"I wasn't trashing anything!" Joule retorted in defense. She shot Lumen a dark glare before adding, "I was just experimenting, that's all."

"Experimenting is a dangerous word, kid. The possibilities of what you truly meant are _endless_!" Lumen wiggled her eyebrows in an almost suggestive matter. It took Joule a moment to understand what she was getting at. Her face flushed a light shade of pink before she hurriedly tried to explain herself to Gunvolt, the latter staring between the two bickering friends with utter confusion. He still didn't understand why his entire kitchen was covered in - what he assumed was - flour.

"Anyways, Gunny boy, aside from the mess, everything is still operable - probably. Who knows where this white stuff got to. Hell, I bet months and months after this little incident, you'll STILL be finding flour in every crevice and corner-"She trailed off, her head tilting off towards the direction of the kitchen before her eyes inquisitively met the blondes.

"I assume you'll be helping that little bug clean up?"

She stuttered, her eyes widening a bit at her septimals proclamation. She stomped her foot down, heat welling up in her cheeks as she glared right back at the pop star, her voice a little bit louder then she would of liked. "B-Bug?! I am NOT a bug!"

"Shush bro. Don't get your panties in a bunch. " It was hard _not_ to hear the snicker in her voice.

With both Joule and Lumen going at one another yet again, Gunvolt took this time to assess the situation. Slipping past the lavender-haired girl, Gunvolt maneuvered his way around the kitchen, staring at the flour-covered counter, table, floor, _everything_ …

' _Oh my God, Joule. What the hell did you do?_ '

As he came to a halt beside the sink, looking over he noticed that pots and pans - as well as other cooking utensils - had been haphazardly strewn about. The sink itself was coated in the same thick film of flour except it was darker and, quite obviously, wet. Without a word, attempting to start _somewhere_ in this kitchen nightmare, Gunvolt turned the faucet on. Expecting water to rush from the spout, a cloud of flour exploded instead; in its wake, after much sputtering, came the water. It took him a good long minute just to stare at the water coming out of the faucet before he felt the sudden urge to rub his temples. He couldn't fathom _how_ one would clog a faucet with flour let alone _why._ It wasn't until he decided it'd be best to open a window before his eyes caught onto something on the kitchen table.

There, with a mat and utensils covered in flour, was a plate. A plate piled with about four slightly burnt ovals of freshly flipped pancakes. Near them was a glass of milk, sprinkled with the settling 'dust', and near that was an unpeeled orange sitting delicately in small bowl. It wasn't something he had been expecting. Really, he was going by Lumens word on this - something he reminded himself he shouldn't do - and the last thing he had been expecting was a fully prepared meal sitting on the kitchen table in the midst of all the powdery chaos.

"What do you MEAN you let him go into the kitchen?!" Joules panicked voice could be heard just right outside the kitchen walkway and it wasn't a moment later until she was standing there with Lumen in tow. Her little eyes widened and she seemed too distraught to say anything. He glanced over at her, immediately feeling a bit guilty that she seemed so heartbroken over the whole mess.

Before he could say anything, however, she spoke up first. "I-I…" A soft frown crossed her lips and her eyes darted to the floor like a scolded child.

He looked to her, his eyes briefly glancing to Lumen before going back to Joule. "Joule.." His face was still rather blank, even with the slight wonderment in his eyes as he gestured to the table. "..Did you make this?"

She glanced up, still frazzled as she glanced to the fluffy breakfast waiting on the table. "H-Huh..? Uh.. y-yeah.. uhm.." She fiddled with the end of her dress, her eyes glancing back at the floor. "I.. I wanted to do something nice.. uhm.."

Lumen coughed in the background and Joule shot her a sharp glare before going back to speaking. "You're always going out and working… and it can be dangerous and bad at times and you never seem to want to do anything other than work so…" She looked up at him then. "I-I wanted to make something for you to eat.. cause.. you know…" She looked back down at the ground. "You always come back, sleep, wake up and… you don't eat much… I figured you could use a nice breakfast, so I tried making you something. There." She took a deep breath before sighing; she was clearly still nervous.

Gunvolt didn't even need to glance back to the table; he already knew what was there. His eyes seemed to soften at this. She didn't need to do something like this for him and yet there it was on the placemat. He walked over to her, his hand moving to her head before he ruffled up some of her hair. "..Thank you." He spoke, the edges of his lips turning up into a small smile. Her eyes flitted upward and upon seeing the other actually smiling her whole demeanor changed.

"Yeah!" She smiled, chipper herself before she started pushing the other towards the table. A slightly surprised Gunvolt only complied as Joule pulled out one of the two tables chairs - the seat portion was perhaps one of the only things not devastated by the mess - and patted the seat. "Now eat it before it becomes too floury to eat!"

"Yeah and whose fault is that?" Lumen scoffed at the doorway while Joule only scowled.

"Nobody asked your opinion, Lumen!"

He still never figured out how the kitchen got into such a disarray over pancakes.


End file.
